Ribbon-inking machine



marl-11,1924. L 1,486,674'

F.- G. MEYER RIBBON INKING MACHINE I Filed Ju ne' 8. 1922 5'Sheets-Sheet 1 F. G. MEYER RIBBONQINKINGI MACHINE I Filed June' 8, 19225 Sheets-Shee t 2 March 11 1924.

' 5 Shee' ts-Sheet 3 F. G. MEYER RIBBON INKING MACHINE Filed June a 1922a ANN March 11 1924. 1,486,674

. F. G. MEYER RIBBON INKING MACHINE I Filed June 8 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Patented Mar. '11, 1924.

UNITED STATES FREDERICK GEORGE KEYED, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUIBIA.

BIBBON-INKI'NG IAGHINE.

Application filed June 8, 1922. Serial 110. 566,890.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK GEORGE MEYER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Washington; irrtheDistrict of Columbia, haveinvented certain new and useful Im rovements in Ribbon-Inking Machines;

an .I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled,

in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to machines for inking typewriter ribbons and thelike and has for one of its objects to provide an apparatus of thischaracter which will be simple in construction, comparativelyinexpensive to manufacture, and more eflicient in operation than thosewhich have been heretofore proposed.

A still further object of the invention is tov provide an inking machinewhich will be relatively small and compact and which may be eflicientlyemployed in oflices for the purpose of preparing typewriter ribbons usedtherein.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a machine whichmay be used to produce ribbons bearing a single color ink or the wellknown multicolored ribbon and which will produce either kind just asefiiciently as the other.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in the novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosedand particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 1

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification in which like numerals designate like parts in all theviews;

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one form of an apparatus made inaccordance with the resent invention;

Fig. 2 1s a plan view of the parts in Fig. 1-; I

Fig. 3 is a central, vertical, sectional view shown taken a proximatelyon the plane indicated by the ine-3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view taken approximately onthe plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail, horizontal, sectional view through the member whichprevents the mixing of the different colored inks prior to theirapplication to the ribbon, the

said view being taken approximately on the plane indicated by the line55 ofFig. 3,;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view 0 the inking rollers showing a singleink reservoir in place within the machine and the other parts inposition for producing a single color ribbon;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational viewof a slightly modified form of an inkreservoir;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the planeindicated by the line 8-+-8 of Fig. 7;

' Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, longitudinal, sec tional view illustrating astill further modified form of an ink reservoir showing the same inplace in the machine; and,

Fig. 10 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view taken approximately onthe plane indicated by the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Referring now more especially to Figs. 1 to5 inclusive the-numeral 11indicates a base to which is secured in any suitable manner, as by thescrews or bolts, 12, the vertical side frame members, 13 and 142 Thesesaid frame members are substantial duplicates and journalled therein insuitable bearings is a main' ower shaft 15 which carries at one end arivingjpulley or wheel 16 aroundwhich passes a belt 17, which may bedriven from an electric motor orother source of power not shown.

The said shaft 15 carries at its other end an elongated pinion gear 18which meshes with, a gear 19 rigid with a shaft 20 also journalled inthe said side frame members, 13 and 14, parallel to the said main shaft15. The gear 19 also meshes with a compan on gear 21 carried b atransversely extending shaft 22, which atter shaft is preferablyjournalled in the said side frame members, 13 and 14, directly above theshaft 20.

The said shafts 20 and 22 carry the inking rolls, 23 and 24,respectively, of metal or other suitable material, the peripheries ofwhich rollsare normally in engagement at their point of tangency. Theupper 22 is preferably journalled eccentrically in the bearing members25 which are rotatabl mounted within the frame members 13 an 14. and thesaid bearing members are provided with leverarms' 26 to which otallysecured the submantially vertically extending. rods 27 which carry attheir lower ends a Suitable weight 28, wherebypressure exerted by theupper roll 24 upon the lower roll 23 at the point of contact may becontrolled.

Rigidly secured to the base 11, adjacent its left-hand end, as seen inFigs. 1, 2, and 3, are the bracket members 30 in which is journalled thetransverse shaft 31, which carries a pair of L-shaped arms 32 and 33.The shaft 31 is provided throughout a portion of its length with a slot34. extending diametrically therethrough in which slot is mounted a pairof racks 35 and 36.

The rack 35 is rigid with the Lshaped arm 32 while the rack 36 is rigidwith the companion arm 33, and both of the said racks mesh with a pinionor gear 37 carried by a Stub shaft 38 provided with the finger member39', whereby rotation may be imparted thereto.

s will be readily understood, whenever the shaft 38 is rotated bymeans-of the member 39 the pinion 37 will cause the racks 35 and 36 tomove in opposite directions thereby causing the L-shaped arms 32 and 33to either approach or recede from one another,whereby the distancebetween them may be varied at will.

The said arms are provided with a spindle or shaft 40 which is readilyremovable and which is adapted to form a journal for the reel or spool41 upon which is wound the nninked ribbon 42. The other arm of themembers 32 and 33 is provided with a revoluble spindle 43 which servesas a guide roll to guide the said ribbon 42, as will be clear from Figs.1 and 3.

In order to further guide and tension the ribbon during its travelthrough the machine there is provided between the side frame members. 13and 14, a plurality of rods 0r rolls, 44, 45, 46, 47. and 48. all ofwhich are suitably journalled within the said side frame members. Thesesaid roll members are provided with suitable lateral guide memberswhich, in the case of the .rolls 44 and 46 take the form of a pair ofsubstantially rectangularplates. 49 and 50. slidably mounted upon therolls 44 and 46 and laterally adjustable by means of the oppositelythreaded rod 51. which passes loosely through the side frames, 13 and14, and is journalled in a longitudinally extend ing member 52, as willbe clear from Fig. 2.

It will be readily apparent that. by rotating the said rod or shaft 51in one direction or another the said members 49 and 51 may be adjustedlaterally to accommodate ribbons of different widths.

The ribbon 42 may be further guided around the rolls 47 and 48 by merelyextending these members 49 and 50 to the 7 right, as seen in Figs. 2 and3, to points adjarent the said rolls 47 and 48, or the said rolls may beprovided with independent 1 ,a-eeeve adjustable ide bushings 53 and 54,as is best shown in Fig. 2.

The frame members 13 and 14 are provided at the right, as seen in Figs..1 and 3, with the upwardly inclined extensions and 56 in which isjournalled a transverse shaft 57 slidably carrying a pair of l. shapedmembers, 58 and 59. These said members are substantially the same inconstruction as the members 32 and 33 above described, and are adaptedto be brought together or separated by means of a rack and pinionconstruction 60 controlled by a finger member 61 similar in everyrespect to that described in connection with the said members 32 and 33.

The said members 58 and 59 carry a guide roll 62, as well as a removablespindle 63 which is adapted to receive the reel or spool 64 upon whichthe inked ribbon is wound. The said spindle 63 passes through the framemembers 13 and 14 and is provided at one end with a pulley 65, aroundwhich passes a belt 66 driven by means of a pulley 67 rigidly mountedupon the main power shaft 15, see Figs. 1 and 2.

Secured to the base 11 between the guide roll 46 and power shaft 14 bymeans of screws or bolts 70 and 71, is an L-shaped supporting member 72preferably formed of resilient metal. This member extends upwardly, asis best shown in Fig. 3, and at its upper end is provided with a pair ofangle brackets 73, rigid therewith. which brackets pre slotted toreceive the vertical plate mem- )er 0.

The riight-hand edge of this said plate, as seen in 1g. 3, is cut toaccurately conform to the peripheries of the two inking rolls, 23 and24, and its normal position is in contact with the surfaces thereof. Thesaid plate is pivotally carried upon an adjustable screw 76 which passesthrough the l.-shaped supporting member 72, and the position of the saidplate may be controlled by means of the adjusting nuts 77 which arethreaded upon the said screw.

By manipulating this adjustment to spring, the vertical arm of themember 72 any desired pressure of the plate '75 against the rolls 23 and24 may be obtained. The plate together with its support 72 is preferablylocated substantially on the center line of the device so that the saidplate engages the rolls 23 and 24 medially.

In order to supply ink to the mechanism 1 provide a pair of ink trays orreservoirs. 80 and 81. which are removably mounted between the sideframe members 13 and 14. These said trays or reservoirs are providedwith the revolubly mounted rolls. 82 and 83 respectively, the ends ofwhich rolls are provided with gear teeth, 84, and 85, which are adaptedto mesh respectively with the pinions 86 and 37, carried by thetransverse gears 19 and 21 to may be supplied inks.

shaft 88 journalled in the sideframe members 13 and 14, as will be clearfrom Figs. 3 and 4.

The said shaft 88 carries a gear 89 which meshes with the elongated gear18 carried by. the main power shaft 15 whereby power may be suppliedtorevolve the gears 84, 8.5, 86, and 87, as will be readily understood.The parts are so designed and constructed that the outer peripheries ofthe pinions 86 and 87 are tangent to the periphery of the lower inkingroll 23, thereby causing the tips of the pinion teeth to just touch thesurface of the said roll.

As the parts are revolved the ink contained within the reservoirs 80 and81 will be picked up by the rolls 82 and 83 and their gear teeth 84' and85 and transferred to the pinions 86 and 87 and from the said pinions itwill be deposited in broken lines upon the surface of the roll 23 uponwhich it will spread laterally to completely cover the said surface.

The trays or pans 80 and 81 are sufficiently wide to catch any ink whichmay work off the ends of the said roll 23 or its companion roll 24 anddrop downwardly, thus preventing the loss of any surplus ink which maybe fed to the said rolls.

The operation of the device as thus far disclosed will be clear from thefore oing but it may be briefly summarized as fol ows:

It being desired to produce a two colored ribbon the trays 80 and 81 arefilled with inks of the desired colors and placed in the machine inoperative position, as shown in Figs. 3.and4. The uninked ribbon or tapehaving been wound on the reel or spool 41 the latter is placed upon thespindle 40 and the said ribbon is threaded through the machine,substantially as illustrated in broken lines in F igs.\ 2 and 3, and itsend suitably secured to the, spool 64.

Power being then supplied to the apparatus from the motor, not shown, bymeans of the belt 17 and pulley 16, the shaft 15 will revolved togetherwith its gear 18. ThlS said gear will transmit motion through the theinking rolls 23 and 24 which will be revolved'in opposite directions.The gear 18 will also revolve the gear 89, which through its shaft 88will transmit motion to the pinions 86 and 87, which 1n turn willrevolve the gears 84 and 85 of the inking feeding rolls 82 and 83.

The movement of the latter as above explained will causeink to-bedeposited on the said pinions 86 and 87 and by them upon the lowerinking roll 23 whereby its surface with the different colored As aboveexplained the said inks will spread-over the surface of the roll'23 inall direct ions and they are prevented from mixing or overlapping priorto their application to the ribbon 43 by means of the division -plate 75which engages the surface of the said rolls up the point where theribbon is brought in contact with the ink upon the surface of the roll23.

After the said surface has deposited its ink upon the ribbon, asuflicient amount of the said ink has been removed to prevent all dangerof its mixing durin the remainder of the revolution and the IlbbOIlpasses on around the guide rolls, 48 and 62 to the receiving spool 64,as will be readily apparent.

Ribbons that have been actually made by this machine show a veryclea-rand even line where the two inks meet and they are remarkably free frombreaks due to the inks not completely covering the ribbon up the saidline.

In order toaccurately position the dividing line between the two inks inthe center of the said ribbon a lateral adjustment is provided wherebythe entire ribbon feeding and guiding mechanism mayv be shiftedtransversely of the device. This said adjustment comprises the threadedrods 95 which are swiveled in the longitudinally extending member 52 andwhich are threaded respectively into one of the brackets 30 and into theframe member 14, as will be clear from Fig. 2.

These said threaded rods are interconnected by means of gear connections96 and a shaft 97 so that byturning either of the said rods the entireribbon feeding and guiding mechanism may be shifted laterally of thedevice.

Should it be desired to produce a single colored ribbon instead of a twocolored ribbon the machine lends itself readily thereto for by merelyremoving the screw 71 and loosening the screw 70the plate 75 togetherWithits support 72 may be swung around at ri ht angles from its positionil ustrated in Fig. 3 to that illustrated in Fig. 6, in which positionit is entirely inoperative. Then by filling both of the trays or pans,80 and 81 with the same color ink or by substituting a single tray orpan 98, see Fig. 6, for the two trays a ribbon having but a single colormay be produced in the same manner as was the two colored ribbon.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I have illustrated a slightly modified form of an inkreceptacle or reservoir in which not only the large inking rolls 82 and83 are carried by the trays but also the small inking pinions, 86 and87. This construction may be preferable in some instances and both formshave been found to give very good results.

In Figs. 9 and 10, I have illustrated a still further modified form ofinking device comprising a reservoir 100 having a central dividing wall101 providing two chambers 102 and 103 for receiving the differentcolored inks. The said receptacle 100 may be susill pended by means of atransverse rod 104i supported in the side frame members 13 and 14: andthe inks may be fed from the said chambers 102 and 103 through suitablespouts or passages 105 and 1% respectively directly to the surface ofthe ink roll 23.

Of course when this form is employed suitable receptacles should beplaced beneath the rolls 23 and 2a to catch any surplus ink which maydrip therefrom. It will thus be seen that this invention providesaeomparatively small and inexpensive machine which is. adapted toproduce typewriter ribbons bearing either a single color ink or inks oftwo or more colors. .Th machine is small and compact and may be readilyand efficiently employed in business oiiices and other establishmentswhere a large number of typewriter ribbons of various kinds may beconstantly required.

lt will also be noted that both of the ink rolls 23 and 24 are solidrolls and that the plate member '3'5 does not engage a groove Withinthem. Their surfaces are unbroken throughout thereby materially reducingthe cost of their production without in any Way impairing theireiiiciency or operation.

it is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction as Well as the arrangement of parts Without departing fromthe spirit of the invention and therefore it is not wished to be limitedto the above disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What. is claimed is.

l. A device of the class described comrising a solid inking roll havingan un-- roken surface, means for supplying ink at a plurality of pointson said surface, and a plate member resiliently engaging sa d surfacefor preventing the mixing of said ink prior to its application to'theribbon.

2. A device of the class described comprising a solid inking roll havingan unbroken surface, means for supplying ink at a plurality of points onsaid surface, a plate member resiliently engaging said surface forpreventing the mixing of said ink prior to its application to theribbon, and means for adjusting the pressure of said plate against saidsurface. I

3. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of solid rotatableinking rolls. means for supplying inks of diderent colors to said rollsat separated points on their surfaces, means engaging the surfaces ofboth of said rolls for preventing the mixing of said inks prior to theirapplication to the ribbon, and means whereby said last named means maybe readily disengaged from said surfaces and rendered inoperative formaking single color ribbons. I

4. A machine of the class descrimd comessrs prising a pair of solidinking rolls, mean: for supplying inks of difierentcolors to said rollsat separated points on their surfaces, means comprising a plate memberengaging the surface of one of said rolls for preventing the mixing ofsaid inks rior to their application to the ribbon, an means comprising apivoted support whereby said last named means may be moved out ofengagement with said roll and rendered inopcrative for making singlecolor ribbons.

5. In an apparatus of the class described the combination of a frame; apair of inking rolls rotatably mounted in said frame; means for rotatingsaid rolls; means for supplying ink to one or said rolls at separatedpomts upon its surface; a sprm pressed plate engaging the surfaces ofsai rolls for preventing the mixing of said ink; and means forcontrolling the pressure of said plateagainst said rolls.

6. In an apparatus of the class described the combination of a frame; apair of inking rolls rotatably mounted in said frame; means for rotatingsaid rolls; means for supplying ink to one of said rolls at separatedpoints upon its surface; a pivoted spring pressed plate engaging thesurfaces of said rolls for preventing the mixing of said ink; means forcontrollin' the ressure of said plate against said rol s; an meanswhereby said late may be moved out of engagement with said rolls, formaking single color ribbons. i

7. In a machine of the class described, a frame; a pair of inking rollsrotatably mounted in said frame zmeans for feeding a ribbon between saidrolls; means for rotatmg said rolls; means for supplying ink to one ofsaid rolls at separated points upon its surface; an adjustable ivotedspring pressed plate carried by sai trams engagmg the surfaces of saidrolls and said ribbon intermediate their edges; means for shiftin saidribbon laterally of said rolls to contro the point of engagement of'said late therewith: and means whereby said p ate may be readilydisengaged from said rolls and rib bon tor makingsingle color ribbons.

8. A machine of the class described comprising a frame; a pair of inkingrolls rotatably mounted in said frame; -a readily removable inkreservoir carried by said frame; a drum provided with a gear rotatablymounted in said reservoir, both ada ted to pick a ink therefrom; a gearmeshing with said rst named er and engaging the surface of one of saidrolls, adapted to transiter ink from said drum and first named gear tothe surface of said roll at separated I points thereon; and means tordriving said rolls and said second named an FREDERHCK GEOR E WYER

